MissBEHAVED

“What are you daydreaming about over there, Dix?”

Gramps was in for his weekly meeting again. I hadn’t seen Mellie since Monday night but we’d talked every evening after dinner. We were getting to know each other, slowly but surely, sharing our pasts and our dreams for the future. One of which I planned to address right now, at Mellie’s gentle urging.

“What do you think about making these meetings every other week? Or even once a month?” I asked, bracing myself for his immediate refusal and readying the arguments Mellie and I discussed last night. Having someone to bounce ideas around and talk problems through with was new to me, and I found myself appreciating Mellie’s thoughtful opinions even more than I appreciated her physical attributes. Which was a lot.

“That woman you’re seeing put you up to this?” Gramps asked, surprising me.

“Mellie? No, she didn’t ‘put me up to this. Why would you think that?”

“Because she’s some fancy city girl in your life all of a sudden, and you’ve never asked before.”

I let out a frustrated sigh. “It’s been years I’ve been running the day to day, Gramps. Don’t you trust me, yet?”

He looked like I’d slapped him. “Of course I trust you, Dix.”

“Then why do I have to show you the books every week? Why do I have run every idea by you before I can change something? It feels like you don’t think I can handle the job.”

Gramps looked around the office, the room almost completely unchanged since he let me take over, then looked up at me.

“I’m sorry if I made you feel that way, Dix. An old man like me gets stuck in his ways, sometimes. I know you can run the store, and I know we need to make some changes and update things. I guess it’s just harder than I thought it would be to hand the reins over to you. But it’s not because I don’t trust you.”

“I can do this, Gramps. I won’t run the store into the ground or change it so much you don’t recognize it, but I’m ready to take over completely,” I promised. It hadn’t occurred to me that Gramps was struggling to let go, but it was his life’s work and knowing how he felt put everything into a different light. “Why don’t you work another shift here during the week? That way you can keep an eye on things. Now that I’ve got Mellie, I’d like a little more time off.”

He smiled at my suggestion, knowing it was just a way for him to be involved. I didn’t need him to be here to take time off. We had a manager who was perfectly capable of running things in my absence.

“That’s a good idea, Dix. Maybe I’ll let you have a Friday night off here and there.” He rose and put his coat on. “I’m going to call my lawyer’s office and have them finish up the paperwork to transfer the store to you.”

“You don’t have to do that now, Gramps. That wasn’t my point.” I always knew that the store would be mine one day, but I didn’t care when that happened. My purpose in talking to him today was to give me more freedom, not get ownership.

“I know it wasn’t your point, Dix, but it’s time. I’ve been putting it off for too long. You’re not going to get the whole thing right away; your grandmother and I still need some money to live off. But it will be fair, and I’ll come in and work a little so I can keep busy. But you can make the decisions and run the place, and we’ll have our financial meeting once a month. How’s that?” He held his hand out in front of him, waiting for me to agree.

“That sounds good, Gramps,” I replied, shaking his hand. “I won’t let you down.”

“I know you won’t, Dix. And you thank your lady friend for me.”

“For what?” A few minutes ago, he was accusing Mellie of forcing my hand and now he was thanking her?

“For encouraging you to talk to me. I know you wouldn’t have done it without hashing it out with someone else, first.”

I chuckled at how well my grandfather knew me. “She’s a smart lady, Gramps. She didn’t push me, but she made me see it wouldn’t be a bad conversation to have. Either I’d get what I wanted, or I’d find out why you didn’t think I was ready.”

“I want to meet this woman soon. I’ve held off on telling your grandmother anything, but I don’t like keeping important things from her, and this woman sounds like she’s becoming important to you.” His jaw was set in a firm line, and I knew he wouldn’t keep this secret any longer.

“All right, Gramps. I appreciate you holding off on telling her anything. I’ll talk to Gram over lunch on Sunday and see if I can invite Mellie over for dinner in a few weeks. I know her parents are coming into town next weekend, and with Valentine’s Day coming up she’ll be really busy at her store.”

He shook his head in bewilderment. “Lingerie, huh? I never saw the use for it but if she can make a living off a bunch of lace and satin, more power to her.”

“I think she’s doing well for herself.” I didn’t mention the fact that I didn’t think she really needed to work. That information would come much later, after they met her and got to know her. Her wealth didn’t bother me, but I didn’t want to risk my grandparents forming opinions about her before they’d even met.

“I’ll see you Sunday, Dixon. And I’ll let you know when the lawyer has the paperwork ready to sign.” He left the office and I plopped down in my chair, the tension I’d been carrying since I made the decision to approach him today gone. That went better than I could have hoped for and the first person I wanted to tell was Mellie.